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1/06/2011 @ 2:39PM6,083 views

Rolls-Royce and The Woman Who Was (Maybe) The Spirit of Ecstasy

On Feb. 6, the ultimate emblem of British automotive pride–Rolls-Royce’s Spirit of Ecstasy–will celebrate 100 years of existence.

Legend has it that sculptor Charles Sykes modeled the icon on Eleanor Thornton, a British beauty and secretary to Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, founder and editor of The Car Illustrated magazine. But no one knows for sure who the woman in the wings is–and Rolls’ stance on the matter is that “it is an interesting story and if it makes you happy, let the myth prevail.”

Here are the facts: Montague was an avid fan of motoring–he introduced King Edward to the sport, pressed for higher speed limits and was a close friend of Charles Rolls and Claude Johnson (they along with Henry Royce founded the company). He often featured Rolls-Royce cars in his publication, so it was no stretch for him to ask staff illustrator Sykes to commemorate the premier car for England’s automotive elite.

The Rolls-Royce board of directors at the time had publicly voiced its displeasure of the gauche hood ornaments (fat policemen, for instance) that currently sat atop its vehicles. So Montague told Sykes to fashion something that would embody “speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy and a beautiful living organism of superb grace.” Sykes created the gilded woman he presented in 1911 (he had done several works in bronze beforehand); it became Rolls’ standard bonnet adornment in the 1920s.

The Spirit of Ecstasy

The speculation in the story starts with Thornton. She was a minor actress and artists’ model when she was hired as Montagu’s secretary in 1902, but she had also been instrumental in the famous 1,000-mile car trial for the Motor Club of Great Britain in 1900. Many people believe Thornton and the older, married, higher-caste Montagu were lovers and that he told Sykes specifically or implicitly to use Thornton as his muse. Indeed, she worked closely with him for more than a decade, traveling extensively with him and bearing a daughter that she gave up for adoption during that time. Thornton was the inspiration for many of Sykes’s earlier drawings, paintings and bronzes–they were co-workers at Montagu’s magazine, after all–appearing on several covers and as Alice in a serialized spoof called “Alice in Motorland.”

A bronze statue that Sykes created for Montagu in 1911 is thought to symbolize the secret love and was used as the mascot for the baron’s personal car. Called “The Whisperer,” it showed a woman (widely agreed to be Thornton) in a thin flowing dress with one leg in the air and holding her finger to her lips. The similarities between The Whisperer and the Spirit of Ecstasy are unmistakable. (You can buy an enlarged version of the original here for $12,500.)

The tragic twist to the story is that Thornton died at sea in 1915 on a return trip from India–she and Montagu had traveled there together during WWI, and her ship, the SS Persia, was struck by a torpedo. Montagu survived.

Where does that leave us? To mark what Rolls calls its “year of celebration,” every Ghost and Phantom produced in Goodwood will bear a Spirit of Ecstasy inscribed with the words “Spirit of Ecstasy Centenary–2011″ at its base. On Feb. 6 the company will host a drive through central London consisting of 100 modern and historic Rolls-Royce cars. Other celebratory events are scheduled throughout the year.

As for Sykes, who died in 1950, he never spoke publicly about Thornton. And it’s quite possible that marketing-guru Johnson stoked the star-crossed-lover myth to bolster the allure of his brand.

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